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Wednesday, July 12, 2017

"In a Fix" - Guest Bathroom

Well hi ya! How was your 4th of July? I can't believe it is July. I can't believe Briarside Lane is done. What a fun journey it was. Jules and I are already working on Wonderland Woods. We have something very special in store for you, but you'll have to wait until January 1st, which will be here before we know it.

This week I wanted to bring you another installment of "In a Fix." The guest bathroom was in dire need of a fix. Since we have been having more guests at Bayfield Cottage, we decided this would be a good place to start the inside updates.

This is how the bathroom looked when we moved in. It had a tiny, black-framed mirror above the vanity.

There were giant knobs on the vanity, along with child safety locks. Not to mention, the super nasty, dirty grout between the tiles on the floor. Eeeewwwwwww!

The worst thing though was the glass shower doors on the tub/shower. This was something people did quite often back in 2001 when our cottage was built. I never liked it. One, it makes it incredibly hard to get in and out of the darn tub. I'm a tiny person and it felt like crawling through a hole just to get in there. Two, the tracks that the doors slide back and forth on get sooooooooo icky! Three, it just looks cold and boring.

The floor of our cottage have actually dropped about an inch over the years. This caused the vanity to drop as well, which in turn, caused the caulking to pull loose.

Not to mention how much caulk was used in there! Good gracious it's about 1/2"!

Here's another view.

The first thing we did was take down the shower doors. David and I both scraped and scraped and scraped the adhesive off the fiberglass. Check out David's feet. Those are his house flip flops that he always wears with his socks. He's such a dork. hee,hee,hee.

The next thing was to patch holes, sand walls and figure out how to hang the new light fixture. Back when the house was "roughed in" the plumber put the vent pipe directly in line with the sink. The electrician put the junction box way over to the left! That would have never happened on my job site back when I was a Project Manager. Needless to say, David had to do some fancy fixing in order to get the light fixture to hang over the vanity properly.

Next, he cut out all that old caulking around the vanity. Once he did, he discovered that the vanity top was not seated on the vanity cabinet all the way. He pushed it back against the wall and viola, no need for all that massive caulking! Again, would have never happened on my job site. Geesh...

We had a fiberglass repair man come and fix the holes that were left when we took the shower doors down. He did a nice job, but he didn't use a respirator and kept the door shut. NUTS!!! The fumes were so awful! I told him to open the door because I didn't want him to die in my bathroom. Dumb!

After the tub was repaired, David painted over the grey walls with Aged White and the trim with Whitetail by Sherwin Williams. Now I know all the rage and the "in" thing is grey, greige and the like, but I just can't do it. I despise gray! It makes me feel sad, depressed, tired and like I'm constantly in the rain. Can you tell I don't like gray? hee,hee,hee. Plus, I enjoy being a rule breaker and going against the norm. This color is a soft, creamy white. It makes me feel like I can breathe. It's clean, but warm and is a perfect neutral backdrop for my "Calm, Clean and Serene" style.

I bought a fun, beveled edge mirror that I think brings something unexpected. I also purchased a new shower curtain that has a nice texture, but doesn't take over the space.

Here's how it looks with the light on.

Next, I removed the child safety locks, (boy was that hard!) and replaced the giant knobs with low profile, brushed-chrome knobs. Now we don't have to worry about taking out a hip when we walk past them. Giggle, snort.... ;)

There really wasn't a good place to put a towel ring for a hand towel. I'm never a fan of putting towel rings above light switches. So, I decided to purchase a towel bar that sits on the vanity. These cute fingertip towels match the shower curtain. I kinda did the happy bunny dance in the middle of Bed, Bath and Beyond when I found them. Just say'in.

Instead of a towel bar that would hold one towel for guests, I decided to use three towel hooks.

I also scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed that nasty grout with Grease Lightning and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It took me almost two hours, but what a difference!

David's caulking job is wonderful and the vanity top is straight and where it is suppose to be.

Eventually, I will replace the pictures that are hanging with some sort of original art, but for now, these will work.

David and I are really happy with how it all turned out. Now on to the next project, which he tells me is sanding and staining our back deck. Somehow I think that needs to wait until the fall when it isn't 100 degrees outside.

Love seeing the before and after and other people's ideas for rooms. I am doing our Youngest son's room this summer and he wants grey on the walls!!!! I have said he can have the two small walls in a light dove grey but the rest will be white, we shall see how it turns out!!!! Thanks for sharing, Hugs Susie xx

Your clean serene decor is so soft and beautiful. I love the new improved bathroom and the fact that you didn't just replace everything or spend unnecessary money. I am a fan of grey and griege however I could definitely come over to the "light side". He he he...<3

Ohh--what a wonderful looking old/new bathroom--you did a great job--and I don't blame you for removing those tracks--they are a real pain to clean--I remember that!!!!have a great week--enjoy the moments, di

I am with you. In all the home shows we go to everything is grey or black and I can do with some black accents but I hate grey. No grey in my house guess I will just be out of style. Looks fresh and pretty!

Oh, my gosh, Shell, you did a fabulous job!! I STILL haven't opened the door to my guest bathroom at the Bandon restoration site!! I am saving my money for a hazmat suit!! I am so proud of you, m'dear!!

Absolutely stunning! Have been thinking of taking out my glass shower door. There is no fiberglass repairman here. Do you have any idea how he went about filling the holes? Really love the mirror. Where did you find it?